Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-11
SOME SPECIMEN LIES NAILED.

downright falSeh0oQS, ana ul-auVlSeO laD-
relations are to be found, as in the following,
which appeared in the San Francisco En-
omi,,er of yesterday. Prefacing the quota
ton with the statement that Ira G. Hoitt,
Superintendent of Public Instruction is a
Republican, and that the Eraniaer is
Democratic organ, we give the item in full,
as no restatement of it could be made to
present the lies SO we'll:
A grand mass meeting under the auspices of
the Federated Trades will be held in Metropoli-
tan Temple on Saturday evening next, for the
purpose of giving voice to public opinion in re-
gard 10 the textbook question, which is being
thoroughly agitated throughoutthe state. Since
the election of Ira G. Hoitt as Superintendent of
Public Instruction he has positively refused in
many instances to publish and distribute
school-books in the public schools of the State
at cost price. as required by law; Only 25,0O0
copies of the arithmetic adopted have been
published and given to the schools Just be-
fore the adjournment of the last Legislature,
and after all business of d financial character
had been finished Mr.. Hoitt addressed circu-
lar to both houses, in which he asked for the
necessary appropriation with which to carry on
the work of publishing the school-books. 1t is
claimed that through the Superintendent neg
ligence the agents of Eastern publishing houses
have renewed the old contracts 10 furnish differ
ent textbooks TO the various counties IN the
another are compelled to buy an entire different
set Of school-books for their children, whereas
the laws of the State have provided for COM
plete set of schoolbooks to be used in the yari-
Gus public schools in the State. The meeting
will be addressed by Senator T. J. Clunie, Hon
Patrick Reddy, Hon James II. Barry and John
N. Days
If Messrs. Clunie, Reddy, Barry and
Days indorse the falsehoods in the item
and do the usual "rostrum act" upon that
basis, they will confess themselves to be
either political dema gogues posing for the
political favor of the Federated Trades, or
"ignoramuses" who are incapable of ascer-
tanning simple facts Of State record. As
for the Epaminer, it knows better and lies
by the card, for the facts have been re-
peatedly explained to it. 1t remains to
be seen if the promised speakers will
lend themselves to the evident purposes of
a vicious scheme. Let us see how the
plain truth will shame an indictment of
gross falsehood. The facts, let it be noted,
are such as can be ascertained in ten min
utes by any citizen making examination at
the Capitol.
Governor Bartlett is Democrat, and
Superintendent Hoitt Republican. They
constitute the Executive Committee of the
State Board of Education, having full
power to order textbooks printed when
needed. These gentlemen agree that the
need for more spoilers aud readers than are
now printed does not exist, and they have
declined to order more to print until the
arithmetic, now on the press, is out of the
way. That is to say, having on hand some
1900 readers and spoilers in excess of the
officially certified demand of the coun-
ties that are to take books this year There
are some which have unexpired contracts
that cannot be vacated by retroaction of
law the Governor and Superintendent
weeks ago refused to acede to the demand Of
the Knights Of Labor that more spoilers
and readers be printed forthwith, because
the work was not needed, and they did not
wish to interfere with the issuance of the
arithmetic. They were the judges of the
situation and they agreed as TO the wisdom
of the policy adopted.
Not "25,000 copies of the arithmetic
adopted have been published and given to
the schools" The number is grossly mis-
stated; it is very much less; SO much below
that figure indeed that the truth is no
0rthmetics hare been published, and none
,a1 M L.
pages of the arithmetic are now flying from
the State presses, and in due time will be
bound and made ready for delivery.
The Superintendent and Governor have
not neglected to order books printed in
quantity sufficient to meet the de-
mands, nor has their "neglect I"
-essaled--Esssets --hee!s agents ---,t to
renew old contracts, thus compelling par
ents to buy new sets of books when they
remove from one county to another. On
the contrary, no county Board has au-
thority to make any such contracts No
Board or other authority has made any
such contract. No county has been re-
fused q supply of books printed at cost
as required by law, nor has any
county applied and failed to procure
them. The books compiled and sent to
press have been readers, speller, and
arithmetic. Neither the Legislature, the
educators of the State, the State Board of
Education, or any one else expected or
deemed it possible to print this year any
other books than those named, except the
grammar, the preparation Of which is in
charge of Superintendent Allen, of the
State Normal School at San Jose, and a
portion of the proofs of which have been
pulled and are under examination.
This volume, it is hoped, will be issued
early in the summer.
The history and geography will not be
issued until 1888, nor was it ever contem-
plated that they should be. Moreover,
neither Governor Bartlett nor Superintend-
snt Hoitt laid out or planned the scheme
or order of compilation and issuance, but
it was done under the administration of
NtO. oioHeind1s tONtfHoTp ITesiueIlt OF the
Board of Education and w. T. Welcker.
Superintendent of Public Instruction, both
Democrats. But we arc free to say, that
having closely aud jealousy watched the
whole scheme as an ardent friend of the
new system of supplying the State with
textbooks, We have had no reason to ques-
ton the sincerity or diligence of these
gentlemen, who were advocates and sup
porters of the system from the outset
Finally, on the 4th inst, Governor Bart
lett and Superintendent Hoitt issued to the
Superintendent of Printing the following
order. which was published at the time:
Mr.. p L. Stodf, Superintendent Of STATE Print
;ng: AS soon as the presses, or either of them.
have done their work on the % coo copies of the
Arithmetic. you viii a. once proceed to print